It`s 1st (game Of Season) And 10 (% More Costly) For Bears

August 31, 1991|By John Schmeltzer.

The Chicago Bears theme song, ``Bear Down Chicago Bears,`` could have some new meaning for fans attending Sunday`s season opener against the Minnesota Vikings: Their wallets will be left nearly 10 percent lighter than a year ago.

A family of four will spend an average of $171.50 to attend a Bears home game this year, up $15 from last year, according to a survey by Chicago-based Team Marketing Report.

Most of that is due to an increase of $3 a seat, or 11.8 percent, in the price of tickets.

The Bears` increase is more than double the 4.7 percent average gain in the cost of attending a National Football League game, where the family of four could expect to spend $151.55.

``Although spending $151 at a game is a lot of money, it`s important to note that an NFL team has only eight regular-season home games, compared to 81 for baseball and 41 for basketball,`` said Alan Friedman, publisher of Team Marketing Report.

He said that though obtaining tickets for a Bears game is difficult, it should be considered a possible family activity.

``It`s a sporting event. It`s something that families do attend, although the fan profile may not be quite the same as for baseball,`` he said.

Friedman`s firm annually prepares a survey on the cost of professional football, baseball, basketball and hockey. The average cost this year for a family of four to attend a Major League Baseball game was $76.22, about half the cost of attending an NFL game. Surveys for basketball and hockey will be released later.

In addition to four game tickets, the average cost for attending a game includes two beers, four hot dogs, four soft drinks, two caps, two game programs and parking.

``Our event is different,`` said Brian Harlan, a spokesman for the Bears. ``We play eight home games, they play between 40 and 80.`` Basketball and hockey teams play about 40 homes game a year, and baseball teams play 81.

``If you compare our ticket price to the Bulls` and the Blackhawks`, we come out quite favorably,`` he said.

Though the Bears` average ticket price is $28.50, the average price of a Chicago Blackhawks ticket is $28.75.

The average Chicago Bulls ticket is $36.70.

Harlan also noted that families attend Bears games regularly. ``We have family seating sections where they don`t serve alcohol. There are always a lot of young people and kids in attendance,`` he said.

Friedman pointed out that though the average cost of attending a Bears game rose 10 percent, the cost of attending games of 11 other teams, including the New York Giants, New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos, rose less than 1 percent.

The highest cost of attending a game is in San Francisco, where 49ers fans will pay average $197.50 per family of four.

The 49ers` average ticket price of $35 also is the highest in the NFL.

In the Bears` Central Division, the lowest cost for a family of four is in Detroit, where Lions fans pay $125.17 for a day at the Pontiac Silverdome. Detroit also has the league-low ticket price, $18.17.